


Extreme Makeover

by LenoraLana



Series: The Petra Black and Fowl Series [1]
Category: Transformers Animated
Genre: OC, Petra Black, Sakura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22905982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenoraLana/pseuds/LenoraLana
Summary: This is another fic I once posted elsewhere under the penname TehMarishal. Prometheus Black's insane sister decides to conduct an experiment on a young girl, and gets crazier and crazier as the story goes on. (This fic actually embarrasses me a tad but I'm just posting it for nostalgic purposes.)
Series: The Petra Black and Fowl Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664146





	1. Chapter 1

Petra Black sighed softly as she leaned over her desk to peer into her tiny microscope. She was going to succeed in this experiment, even if it killed her.

Frankly, she was tired of being treated like a sub-class person. It seemed like everyone else was successful at something or other, at least remotely so. Her brother was a criminal now, locked away inside a secure box that could not be penetrated by acid—hell, he was even a freak, but at least he had succeeded in something. He became something that could easily stand up to machines, even those tough Autobots. Well, until he got overwhelmed, that is—but then again, he was only one man. If there had been an army like him, then he could have beaten the Autobots and possibly even taken over the planet, if he'd wanted to go that far. But alas, he was only one individual, and no matter how powerful you were, being very powerful was sometimes just not enough.

Besides, the only people he had as backup were freaks themselves, and nowhere near as powerful as him, Petra thought as she double checked some calculations on her nearby computer. In some ways, she felt that Prometheus was just plain stupid. Why did he rely on the steroid freak, the bat-mutant and the shark/squid-mutant, when he could have just used his own accident to his advantage and create others like him? If only he had did that…

Well, that's why my plans will work, and his never will, Petra thought as her slim fingers flew across the computer keyboard in a blur, putting the finishing touches on a crucial calculation. Prometheus was always a genius, but in spite of all that, he's always been so stupid.

Finally she finished what she was doing and then she grinned. If she could do things right, she would be able to do exactly what she needed to do. But first, she would need an experimental subject.

And I prefer to do my dirty work myself, she thought. She had already managed to break into her brother's old lab to get some valuable data off his computer, and she would also get her own guinea pig on her own, too. Anyone would do, really. A man, woman, or child…

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sari and Bumblebee were playing a game on a small portable computer that Sari had brought from Sumdac tower. Up until today they had often played a video game on the TV, until Prime told them they couldn't do that anymore because they needed the TV to monitor the media broadcasts in the case of an emergency. So that's when Sari decided to borrow one of her dad's computers.

Overall today seemed pretty uneventful so far. Ratchet was taking a stasis nap in his room and Prime was off doing something or other. Prowl was either outside observing nature, or perhaps in his room meditating. The Ninja bot seemed to always be doing one or the other during his free time, and although he was always able to contact over his commlink, sometimes one could never be too sure where he was during his spare time.

Just as Bumblebee made the final score, causing him to shout triumphantly and jump to his feet and dance around a little, leaving Sari to glare at him and accuse him of using cheat codes, Prime approached them and cleared his throat. And what the boss-bot said next caused Bumblebee's juvenile cheer and Sari's frustration vanish, at least somewhat.

"There's been a kidnapping," Prime said. "A young human adult was apparently attacked out on the street about ten miles from here and taken into a car, which somehow eluded the police. Later the car was found abandoned in an alleyway, but there was no one there."

"So a human was kidnapped and no traces were left," Bumblebee said, and shrugged slightly. "You know we hear about humans gone missing or attacking each other all the time on the news, but we don't go to look for every single one—what makes this one so different?"

"Because the attacker is Petra Black, Meltdown's sister," Optimus explained patiently. "Apparently she broke into her brother's lab a few days ago, and now she's kidnapped someone. That can't be good, can it?" He held out his hand toward Sari and Bumblebee indicatively.

"Um… no," Bumblebee acknowledged, twiddling his fingers like he always did when he got uneasy.

Sari's eyes were wide and she blinked once before saying, "Wait a minute, Meltdown has a sister?"

"Apparently," Optimus said. "I think we should go out and look around the city for her. She probably isn't up to anything good." With that he used his commlink to contact Prowl, and the ninja bot acknowledged he would be right there and then terminated the connection. Optimus distantly felt like he had interrupted something judging by the tone of Prowl's voice, he but quickly brushed it off and went to wake up Ratchet from his stasis nap. They had important things to attend to and frankly, Optimus expected to get a much grumpier reaction from waking Ratchet than from disturbing Prowl during his bird-watching, or whatever the ninja might be watching now.

0o0o0o0o0

I am so good—I am so slick! Petra couldn't suppress her delighted giggles as she strapped her victim securely onto a cot. It had almost been too easy. She had hot-wired a car she'd seen on the side of a street and stolen it, using it as a getaway after attacking a young woman who looked like she'd make an ideal test subject. Then after she'd eluded the police, she had ditched the car, thrown her victim over her shoulder, and made a run for it, eventually getting back to her secret hideout.

The best thing of all was that her hideout was located right underneath Sumdac Tower itself in an old, abandoned, and long-forgotten basement. It seemed that it had been locked up pretty tight, used for storing all sorts of useless junk. Petra came in and out of it by using an underground tunnel, and she'd reinforced the door that lead to other parts of the Tower with a couple of locks on the inside, so that it would not be moving anytime soon. Someone would probably have to blast it to get it open now, and that might run the risk of damaging the structural integrity of the Tower itself. Petra once again giggled at her own ingenuity.

In some ways, she wasn't entirely sure why she was doing this. But she had to admit that the main reason was because she wanted to show the world—or maybe at least show herself—that she could succeed just as well as the Headmaster, or her brother, or Isaac Sumdac. She honestly did not care who they were or whether or not they had been successful, and it did not matter to her right now that the Headmaster and Prometheus were behind bars right now. The fact of the matter was that they had been successful, even if their experiments had blown up in their faces.

She, on the other hand, had never been successful at anything in her life. Way back in elementary school, she always got picked on because her artwork looked more like simple scribbles than anything else—even if she spent hours working on it! And she couldn't make anything even remotely decent out of clay even if she tried her hardest. Not only that but she always talked funny, unable to pronounce words or letters correctly for a long time. And to top it all off she couldn't even write letters or numbers very well until she was in fifth grade—they were always drawn wrong or crooked.

So even in the smallest areas of her life, she couldn't do anything right—or it took her a long time just to learn and practice how to do it right, no matter how much help she got. But people like her brother, and the Headmaster—even though they ended up in jail, at least they managed to make something that worked. Her brother was a freak but he became something very powerful, something that was more than human. And at least the Headmaster managed to take down a real Autobot and put his own invention in the place of its head.

What had she done compared to that? Nothing. She had never done anything at all!

But now she was going to do something right for the first time in her life! She was going to do something that would actually work! Or she would destroy herself and every other human being on earth trying! Who cares if she got arrested or destroyed the planet in the process? Everyone else in the world was so lucky anyway. They succeeded at things, whether it was running a business, inventing things, or simply raising a family and going to work every day. Their lives bloomed, AND THEY SUCCEEDED AT MOST EVERYTHING THEY DID!

She threw her head back and let out a long, piercing wail to vent her anguish—Oh, years and years of one failure after another, even in areas where a 4-year-old child would get it after one or two tries. I will prove to the world, and to myself, that I am not useless and I am not stupid! She vowed silently to herself, bowing on the floor and placing her forehead on the smooth, cool concrete. She wrapped her arms around her head and panted softly as she mentally chanted that thought to herself over and over again, and then finally vowed, I will SUCCEED!

Then she jumped to her feet and dashed over to the side of her unconscious victim. Then, grinning wickedly—a grin so wide that it would make her jaw ache later—she grabbed a syringe and stabbed it into the woman's arm. "THIS WILL WORK!" She shrieked. "IT MUST WORK! IT MUST IT MUST IT MUST!"

Then she proceeded, chanting that mantra at the top of her lungs as she continued her work. And it was a good thing for her that the basement was soundproof.

0o0o0o0o0

Bumblebee always enjoyed being out in the big city, especially when he got to drive fast and use his siren. That meant he was unstoppable and traffic lights and other cars could not stop him. He could go right through red light and other cars would get out of his way.

"Don't get too far ahead, Bumblebee," Optimus's voice warned through his commlink.

"I'm not!" Bumblebee exclaimed. "I still see you guys with my rearview mirror—that means I'm not too far ahead!"

"You know maybe he's right," Sari murmured as she adjust the seatbelt in Bumblebee's "driver" seat so it fit more securely. "If you find this Petra Black first just because you're ahead of the others, she may just turn you into circuit soup if she's anything like her brother."

"Yeah right," Bumblebee retorted. "I've seen her picture on the news—she's a bit skinny and kind of pale, but she isn't made of acid."

"No but she did look like the White Witch of Narnia," Sari murmured. "Look, Bumblebee, I wasn't going to say anything but… every time you rush off ahead it brings trouble. Remember the time you went flying into the force-field around Sumdac tower and you wouldn't even listen to me to stop?"

"Yeah well I didn't have time to stop!"

"Because you were going so fast!"

"Well your dad was in trouble and we had to get to him fast!"

"Bumblebee, maybe you should listen to Prowl, you know? I mean, about using your head and whatever," Sari shrugged. "If you just rush in like a race car in every situation, you're gonna end up on the scrap heap one of these days."

"Oh so I should just sit around and watch the grass grow like Prowl does? No thanks!" Bumblebee retorted. "I wouldn't need anything to send me to the scrap heap then—my circuits would fry themselves in boredom."

Sari opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by Prime's voice coming through Bumblebee's commlink. "Bumblebee, slow down! That is an order!"

The yellow bot sighed audibly, and slowed down in order for the others to catch up to him. "Yes, sir."

Once the others caught up, with Prime leading the way, the boss-bot pulled up beside Bumblebee and said, "You know, you're not only posing a danger to yourself when you drive fast like that, but to humans as well. And remember, Captain Fanzone won't be very happy if we damage the city or hurt anyone, especially if it's just an accident."

"Yeah well, if Fanzone were a machine I'd say that he has one servo in the scrap heap," Bumblebee said.

"Oh sort of like you once said I do?" Ratchet said from behind.

Bumblebee tensed slightly. "Still haven't forgotten that, eh?"

"Nope," the ambulance replied.

"Enough," Prime said. "Let us focus on the task at hand."

0o0o0o0o

"It's working… it is working… IT IS WORKING!" Petra shrieked her delight, her eyes wide and wild, as her ultimate dream seemed to be coming true right before her eyes. "YES! FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE, SOMETHING IS WORKING!"

She had injected several things into her test subject's body in order to modify the genetic structure, plus she had to create an electrical-magnetic surge to complete the effect. She had been around, and she knew something about what happened to the Dinobots—she simply never said a word to anyone because any information that was valuable to her research, and more importantly her success, was valuable enough to keep a lid on. But anyway, she had found that a low electrical/magnetic charge, accompanied with a very specific genetic modifier and the introduction of an Autobot fluid sample, would create a perfect human/Autobot hybrid, balancing organic human flesh with Autobot technology.

And it appeared to be WORKING!

"HALLEJUA PRAISE GOD ALMIGHTY! FOR ONCE SOMETHING I HAVE DONE HAS TURNED TO GOLD!" Petra screamed, and began to do a wild dance around the cot that her test subject was on.

The young human woman's systems were still stabilizing, but most of the changes were internal rather than external. Outwardly, the young brown-haired woman didn't look much different than she did before the procedure began. But inwardly, she had now become a perfect balance between machine and flesh.

And what's more was that the organic side was slightly dominant, considering there was no Spark—or whatever that life-force in the Autobots was called. So in a sense the subject was still human, with a human soul and personality, but she had merely been enhanced with technology which would make her stronger and better than other humans.

Just as Petra was reaching the peak of her triumphant dancing and screaming, something went wrong. The monitors beside her test subject began to show that the young woman's systems were destabilizing; apparently there was some sort of rejection going on, internally. The organic and technological factors had not been modified enough so that they could merge adequately into a single, stable hybrid of biological and technological.

For a long moment Petra could only stare and gape in shock as her excitement dispersed and, as her mind absorbed what was happening, her heart tumbled down into her socks. Then she found her voice just long enough to scream "NOOOOOO!" and then she leaped hastily to the nearby computer, trying to figure out what exactly was wrong.

After a few moments Petra managed to temporarily stabilize her test subject by putting her into stasis. Actually for her test subject it was somewhere between an induced coma for a human, and a deep stasis for an Autobot. It would keep the test subject alive for a while, but it wouldn't last forever.

Petra collapsed on the floor beside the test subject's cot and began to wail, slamming her fists against the cold concrete. "So close!" she sobbed, "I was so close! It almost worked! Something I did ALMOST WORKED!"

Suddenly an idea came to her, enough so that she could actually stop sobbing and get up off the floor pretty quickly. "Hmmm," she purred thoughtfully as she glanced over at her test subject. "Maybe I can still get this to work after all!"

She knew about the girl who hung around with the Autobots—the Sumdac kid had a special key, one that could apparently fix Autobots and do all kinds of other things, too. Maybe, just maybe… it could stabilize the human test subject and save her life.

No I don't want to use the key itself though—I want to try and create my own key from it! Petra thought. If I just use something that belongs to someone else, I won't be able to say that I used my genius to save the hybrid experiment. Petra rubbed her hands together and cackled. I must find a way to lure that girl into a trap and steal her key… or if I have to, I will kidnap the kid herself.

She double-checked the human test subject to make certain she was stable enough to be left along for a few hours, then Petra slipped out of her lab. She had work to do.

0o0o0o0o0

Prime had decided that they weren't going to get anywhere by searching the streets in a group, especially since they were traveling on roads during one of the busiest days of the week in Detroit. It was difficult for all of the Autobots to keep up with each other without posing a risk to humans, even with their sirens on. Plus Optimus knew that they would be able to cover more ground if they all split up. So he ordered each of the others to go down a different street and search out different sectors of the city, but warned them not to engage without backup—and emphasized the warning to Bumblebee.

Optimus just hoped they would be able to find something before it was too late. Although he knew that he and his Autobots weren't searching alone—the police machines were out searching too, along with Fanzone's men.

For some reason though he got a feeling deep in his spark that he—or someone in his team—was being watched or perhaps sought after. And he had a deep feeling that it wasn't going to end well somehow or other.

He immediately decided that he was going to keep in touch with everyone, contacting them once every five cycles for updates. Perhaps he was just being paranoid, and it might just get on everyone's nerves after a while, but he felt it was better to be safe than sorry.

0o0o0o0

Through various sources—and because she often paid close attention to the footage that the camera bots captured—Petra knew that the girl could usually be found riding inside the yellow bot.

Petra owned several camera bots and had disguised them to look just like regular news bots, which were always flying around looking for anything interesting that would be worthy of filming. So they were perfect for Petra's cambots to blend in with.

It had also been easy for one of her bots to pick up the Autobots in vehicle form, because she had programmed them to look for five specific kinds of vehicles traveling together, and it did. And after a few hours, the bot's coverage showed that they were splitting up, and she knew that this was her chance. She ordered the camera bot to continue to follow the yellow car and then she grabbed her portable TV device so that she could continue to monitor the footage as she headed out of her lab.

I have work to do, she thought. And I have to do it fast.

0o0o0o0o0

"Um, Bumblebee, why are we going into an old alleyway?" Sari asked as she peered over the steering wheel at where they were apparently heading.

"Because I've seen this on TV many times—bad guys always like to hang out in alleyways!" Bumblebee said with confidence.

"Uh, right," Sari said, cocking a brow just like she did when Ratchet talked to the ship. "Well I'm not sure if Petra Black would be in there. More likely some alley cats, or maybe some gangsters."

"Still it's worth a look!" Bumblebee said, and approached the alleyway. He then parked at the edge of the alley and opened the door so that Sari could get out. Once he was sure she was out, he transformed into robot mode.

"Um Bumblebee," Sari said, "there's no one here."

Bumblebee frowned, peering around the edge of the alleyway, looking around. "I guess you're right," he said slowly. But then something else caught his eye. "Wait a minute, there's a camera bot!" he said, and began waving. "Hi there! I'm Bumblebee! Check this out!" He transformed and began to race around in circles, pausing every few seconds to transform, and either smile and wave or make a funny face at the camera, and begin racing around again.

Sari raised her eyes skyward as if to roll her eyes, but instead buried her face into her hands. Her best friend just couldn't resist being a ham around a camera bot. "Bumblebee," she said, allowing her arms to fall to her sides again, "we don't have time for this! We're supposed to be looking for Petra!"

"Aw come on!" Bumblebee said, and simply reached down and picked her up with one hand, holding her to his chest and waving at the camera. "It never hurts to be friendly!"

"This isn't being friendly! It's called being a ham!" Sari exclaimed.

"Call it what you will—but I enjoy being on TV!"

0o0o0o0o0

Petra raised her eyebrows as she observed the footage being played out on her mini screen. It was a small device that fit in the palm of her hand, although the resolution was very high quality. And right now she could hear every word of what the yellow bot and the girl were saying, and see everything they were doing.

So they're looking for me, are they? Petra giggled. How flattering. I should have figured as much, though. Of course they would go and look for the infamous Meltdown's sister, especially since she broke into his lab and kidnapped a young woman. Her grin widened. At least she had something to thank her brother for.

She gave the camera bot the order to stay completely still and monitor the yellow bot closely, since apparently he was enjoying showing up. It would hopefully give her time to get there so she could knock off the robot and steal the key.

She was wearing a snug-fitting jumpsuit, heavy make-up, and a red wig. She wouldn't be recognized—at least she hoped not.

All she needed to do was hotwire another car, pinpoint the location of that specific alleyway, and she would be good to go.

Oh I like the look of that blue Toyota! She decided, cackling and rubbing her hands together. She darted toward it—thankfully the door was unlocked, and there was no burglar alarm. She quickly sat herself in the driver's seat and got to work.

0o0o0o0

Sari was not the most patient person in the world, especially considering she was eight years old. But Bumblebee was really starting to try her patience. At least he had finally put her down on the ground, but apparently for some reason he wanted to keep goofing around in front of the camera bot.

"Bumblebee, can we please go already?" Sari asked with her eyes wide and pleading. "I mean we've been here for almost half an hour and I've already covered for you at least a dozen times! Prime's gonna start wondering why I keep answering his calls instead of you."

The large yellow robot sighed. He had been upside-down, spinning on his head with his arms up in the air, but now he slowed to a stop and allowed himself to flip over and stand upright. "Alright," he finally said, obviously disappointed to have his fun ruined. But then he smiled. "Well maybe if the camera bot keeps following us, it'll catch the action when we find Petra Black!"

"Yeah, just remember what Prime said about not going after her without backup!" Sari said, shaking her index finger at him the way the tutor bot did when she didn't do what she was told.

"Fine," Bumblebee said, and transformed. He opened the door for her. "Get in," he said.

But before Sari could take more than one step a blue car came out of no where, moving straight toward Bumblebee. Sari screamed and dove out of the way, while Bumblebee's tires screeched as he moved into the opposite direction. However the blue car swerved to match his movements and it slammed right into Bumblebee.

"BUMBLEBEE!" Sari screamed, and gasped in horror when she saw the damage. The blue car had crashed right into his engine section, leaving a section of the metal frame smashed inward—she couldn't see the engine at all, but she knew that it must have sustained damage.

Just as she moved toward Bumblebee to see if he was okay, with her key at the ready, the door on the blue car flew open and a figure jumped out. It was a red-haired lady with way too much makeup and a wild expression in her eyes. She laughed maniacally and she slammed into Sari, knocking the girl to the ground.

"I'll just take this!" the woman said, snatching the key and yanking it so hard that the chain snapped. And with that, the woman dashed away.

"Give that back!" Sari yelled, but the woman was a fast runner, and she leaped into a taxi that was passing by. The taxi quickly drove away.

Sari dashed toward Bumblebee, placing her hands on his rather warped fender. "Bumblebee!" she exclaimed. "Bumblebee—can you hear me? Please say something!"

At first the only reply she got was a groan. Then finally he said in a strained voice, "Ugh… Sari… I can't move…"

"Just stay still," Sari said, "I'll call Prime and the others." Just then she remembered that she didn't have her key anymore—the thing she always used to call the others. But thankfully, it rang a split-second later—it was Prime, checking in.

"Sari, what's the situation?" came the boss-bot's voice. "Bumblebee's commlink seems to be out."

"Prime you and the others have to get here now!" Sari said, talking fast. "Some driver came out of nowhere and slammed into Bumblebee, and the driver stole my key!"

"Hang on we'll be right there!" Optimus answered, and spoke to all the bots. "Prowl, Bulkhead, Ratchet—converge on Sari's position immediately."

"Already on it," came Ratchet's voice.

"Who was the person who did this?" came Prowl's voice. "Could it have been Petra Black?"

"I don't know," Sari said distractedly. "She had red hair—I think Petra's a blond. Just please hurry!"


	2. Chapter 2

Petra Black dashed into her lab with the hugest grin on her face, ever. Her eyes were wide and wild, and a funny noise was coming out of her mouth—a noise somewhere between a witchy cackle and a panting breathlessness from having run so far. She had ditched the car she'd hotwired a couple blocks away and then ran the rest of the distance to her lair.

Now she was back inside her lab, which was quite cluttered and somewhat dusty in places—especially considering she was the first person to be down here for years and years—and gleefully returned to her test subject's side.

Something else I have done has actually WORKED! She thought with a gleeful shriek as she checked on her human guinea pig. She had totally used her smarts, and that stupid yellow robot's attention-hogging nature, to her own advantage.

She checked on the stability of the test subject—although personally, Petra was now starting to think of the woman as "the patient" instead of merely an experiment—and was happy and relieved to see that the young woman was still stable. She wasn't getting any better, but she was still in deep stasis and would live for a few more hours, at least.

I'd best get to work! Petra said. Normally she may have afforded herself a small victory dance around the table complete with joyous shouts and cheers, but she had even more important work to do right now. Not to mention that just having an artifact like Sari's key was totally exciting in of itself.

Now, she thought with a happy giggle, I will see if I can figure out what makes this baby tick—and how to duplicate it! Even as she thought about it, she knew she didn't even have to make an exact duplicate of it. Even something smaller and less powerful—something that would simply keep the patient alive, would do.

0o0o0o0o0

Sari sighed inwardly and rolled her eyes as she stood off to one side the alleyway. Ratchet had managed to stabilize Bumblebee enough so that he could actually move, and even transform. But now that the danger was over and everyone knew that the yellow bot would be alright, it was time for the inevitable.

Sari folded her arms and watched quietly as Optimus Prime began to give Bumblebee yet another lecture for his antics. This sort of thing had happened so many times that Sari had lost count just how many times it occurred. Some small part of Sari actually found this interesting and amusing in some ways—she was the kid, she was younger and shorter than Bumblebee, yet her friend always got scolded more than she ever did.

"You could have gone offline today," Prime was saying, placing his hands on his hips and looking down at the smaller bot. "You should have kept your eyes on your surroundings and called for backup—what's more is that Sari could have been hurt today, or worse!"

"Oh so I'm supposed to see a car that speeds out straight at me out of nowhere?" Bumblebee said defensively, his optics narrowing. "I was attacked, Prime!"

You might have seen it if you hadn't been dancing around in front of the camera bot, Sari thought, but chose not to say it. "Um, Prime, he is right," she said as she looked up at the enormous boss-bot. "In fact we were just about to go look around some more when that car just came out of nowhere and smashed into him."

Optimus sighed softly. "Well," he said after a moment, "I think it would be best if all of us stay in pairs from now on as much as possible. Part of the reason why we can get taken off-guard like that is because when we split up, we are vulnerable."

Bumblebee relaxed a little. He seemed relieved that Prime had apparently stopped chewing him out and didn't blame him for everything. But at the same time—for once—Bumblebee was going to do the smart thing and keep quiet, too.

Well, at least he kept quiet for two seconds. Then he said, "It's a little hard to split up a group of five evenly."

"Hey, I'm here too!" Sari said, waving her arm to remind them of her presence. "I make six, you know."

"Yeah but without the key—"

"Hey what are you saying?" Sari snapped angrily, catching onto what he was implying. "Are you telling me that I'm useless now just because I don't have the key anymore?" She suddenly touched her throat from where the key used to hang. She suddenly began to feel small and almost naked without it.

"Sari you're still a valued member of the team," Optimus Prime tried to assure her, bending down on one knee to get a little closer to her. "But until we get the key back, it may be best if you stay at the base with Ratchet."

Sari looked up at him and her eyes narrowed, filling with tears of anger and hurt. "So until I get my key back, I am useless!" she exclaimed. "You're not even going to let me help you look for it!"

"Kid, it's too dangerous for you," Ratchet said.

"Hey I can take care of myself with or without that key!" Sari persisted, clenching her hands into fists.

"Sari," Optimus said a bit more firmly, "part of being in our team means knowing when to take orders. Now I order you and Ratchet to go back to base right now. And I am ordering Bumblebee to go with you both to finish getting the repairs he needs. Prowl, myself, and Bulkhead will continue to scout out the area."

Bumblebee hung his head and then glanced over at Sari. "Seems you're the only 'useless' one right now," he said. He seemed to be trying to console Sari and express his own displeasure at the same time.

Sari still looked mad and annoyed, yet a small smile crept up from the corners of her mouth in response to his words.

"Alright, let's roll out," Prime said. And they did.

0o0o0o0o0

Taking the key apart was far too risky, because Petra didn't want to damage it. Not only that but there were moments where she could swear it had an awareness of its own. She wasn't sure if it could really be considered "alive", but it seemed to react to some things she was doing.

When she first set the small device atop her work table and experimentally tapped it with the tip of a screwdriver, she actually got an electrical poke off it that caused her to yelp in pain and drop the tool on the floor.

Why you little—! She thought, about ready to slap the key off the table, when something else happened that made her forget her frustration. The key had begun to glow in a bright white aura. After a moment a beam of directional light came off of it and shot toward the patient, almost as though it had seen her.

Ohhh fascinating! Petra thought, letting out a low whistle. This was very, very interesting indeed! Apparently the key was aware of its surroundings, somehow or other. And either it was simply revealing that it had detected something with Cybertronian technology, or maybe it was indicating it wanted to do something.

Could it be that it knew that the patient was dying, and it wanted to do something about it?

Just then, the key moved slightly on the table, although merely an inch if that, in the direction of the patient. Petra raised her eyebrows, and then smiled. "Do you want to help her?" she asked, and giggled. "Well, I am not going to let you—although maybe I will let you do something else to help her!"

Petra quickly looked around her lab for something she had—it was merely a trinket, something she picked up at Wal-Mart. After looking through one of her many boxes, she found it—it was a metal key charm, about three inches long, with the words "God Never Shuts One Door Without Opening Another" on the circular part.

She picked up the key charm and brought it over to the Cybertronian key, and held her trinket out to it. "Can you make this into another key, like you?" she asked it.

Sari's key lost some of its glow and then went completely dark. Perhaps that was its answer to that….

Petra smacked her hand against her forehead. "Look," she said to the key, "I need you to do this for me—it's not even going to be for myself, it's going to be for her." She pointed at the patient. "Make this into a key like yourself, and I will give it to her for keeps. It'll be hers to keep herself healthy. Deal?"

The key began to glow again and then its bright ray of directional light shone on a nearby container of Cybertronian fluid, one she had been experimenting with. Then the light turned and shone on the trinket in Petra's fingers. Then the directional light ceased, although the key itself continued to glow brightly.

Petra just stood there for a moment, blinking. Then a light bulb metaphorically lit up above her head, and she snapped her fingers. "You want me to dip this key into the purple fluid I got from me brother's lab!" She giggled and walked over to the container that the key had indicated. She opened it up and slowly dipped her trinket into the fluid. Then she carefully pulled it back out and held it above the container—it was now nicely coated with the stuff, and dripping slightly.

Then the key's glow intensified to the point where it was almost unbearable to look at. Petra was aware of a directional beam of light coming right toward her hand before she had to squeeze her eyes shut and look away from the blinding light. She felt the trinket in her hand growing hot, and she yelped softly, dropping it onto the floor.

Then, almost as quickly as it had intensified, the bright light of the key vanished.

Petra slowly opened her eyes. Sari's key lay perfectly still on the workbench, dark and quiet. Then she slowly looked down at the floor.

The trinket looked exactly the same as it had a moment ago. Disappointed, Petra growled under her breath and stooped down to pick it up. But even as she did so, she instantly noticed that there was something different about it. The same basic shape and even the words on the key had remained the same, but something about the texture was different. It's as if the physical appearance of the key had remained the same, but what the key was made of had changed.

Grinning, Petra ran to her patient's side and looked her over. Now… what was it that that kid did with her key? "Oh yes!" Petra said to herself, grinning. "She finds a slot and sticks it a robot's body!"

The first thing Petra did was "awaken" her patient from stasis. Then she slowly moved toward the patient, with the new key at the ready. After a moment, Petra simply grabbed her patient's arm and stuck the tip of the new key into it, almost like she was injecting a needle.

Then there was a bright flash of light from the new key, and the light illuminated the patient's entire body. Petra ran to her nearby computer terminal to check her patient's vitals, and she let out a squeal of triumph when she saw that all systems were stabilizing.

Finally the light dimmed down and then Petra walked over, snatched the key into her hand, and then walked back over to the computer terminal. She checked out a few more things, and then frowned when she saw the results.

Oh dear, she thought. Apparently my experiment is not a complete success… Tears began to well up in Petra's eyes. The way I have done this… the patient's biological and technological factors will never be entirely stable… they will need continuous boosts from this new key. Petra glanced down at the key in her hand, and then clenched her fingers around it angrily. "Thanks a lot!" she yelled at both keys, as if this was their entire fault.

But then another idea occurred to her. She could just… try again?

"YES!" She screamed, liking the idea. She had come too far to just quit now. But it also meant she didn't even need this patient anymore—that person had served her purpose in Petra's lab. So Petra made a decision; she would just give the new key to her patient—who was thankfully still unconscious and still hadn't seen anything—and just dump her off somewhere. Then the patient would be free, FREE, and still have her own little key to keep her circuits/flesh stable. Petra was not a cruel, heartless person, after all.

"Just don't lose this, sweetheart," Petra muttered as she slipped the new key onto a silver-colored chain and put it around the patient's neck. "You'll probably need to inject this into your arm once every 24 hours, or your body goes haywire and you die."

With that, Petra threw the patient over her shoulder and then quietly slipped out of her lab. After she disposed of this individual, she would simply bide her time—maybe get something to eat, get some hot chocolate with fluffy little marshmallows, and then get some sleep. After all that she would see about getting herself a new victim, and then this time she would be successful.


	3. Chapter 3

Petra Black certainly wasn't a cruel, heartless person—she liked to think that she had at least some compassion. Especially for her test subjects—erm, patients. Whatever. But the fact of the matter was that this young woman on whom she'd experimented was actually a kindred spirit, in a manner of speaking. Petra had never succeeded in making anything work in her life, and now the patient was a biological/technological failure, simply because without the new key, she would die. In a way—at least with that twisted logic in mind—Petra believed she had created a sister for herself.

But it was a relative she couldn't afford to have around. She needed to get started on a new test subject soon, and therefore needed to dispose of the old one first. Petra simply could not afford to keep an eye on too many people in her lab, especially since the police and now the Autobots were looking for her. But perhaps she would meet the young woman again in another place, another time.

Petra knew roughly where the Autobots were located simply because she had spied on them for so long. After all, she'd needed to observe what they did and where they were in order to assist with her knowledge for her experiments. At first she contemplated dumping the patient off somewhere near their headquarters, but she quickly determined that she just couldn't do that. So she would need to do something else.

But then she remembered something. The Autobots had powerful sensors that could detect anything with a Cybertronian energy signature. Thankfully her own lab was lined with thick steal and concrete so nothing could be detected through the walls. But all she had to do was dump the patient off somewhere remote, make her getaway, and hopefully the Autobots would not catch up to her before she could dump the human-bot hybrid off.

0o0o0o0

Ratchet sighed. He was not exactly in the best mood himself, although right now there were two children who were just making his mood worse. In fact he couldn't tell who was brooding more—Sari or Bumblebee.

The medical bot had just barely finished pounding all of the dents out of Bumblebee, not to mention repairing the damage and replacing some of the parts. In some ways Sari's key always seemed to make things easier, although Ratchet always repaired minor damage. After all, they couldn't waste the key on frivolous things, although Sari never seemed to take her responsibility as the key's caretaker as seriously as she should, since she was often playing games with it or even pulling pranks.

However that didn't really matter now, since the girl's key had been stolen. Sari was upset over it and all she was doing was sitting in front of the television watching one of her favorite cartoons—although not even that seemed to be cheering her up much. Apparently she felt a little lost without her key, and on top of that she really did feel useless without it.

Bumblebee on the other hand blamed himself for what happened, and for the fact that Sari felt so bad. But in Ratchet's opinion, the yellow bot wasn't placing the blame in the right area. All that Bumblebee kept saying was that if only he had been faster or if only the others had gotten to him quicker, maybe something more could have been done.

"Listen to me, kid," Ratchet finally said at one point, "you keep on saying your teammates are at fault, and that you should have been faster. But I don't hear you placing the blame where it should be placed—on your own foolishness."

Bumblebee's blue optics widened and then narrowed into slits. "My foolishness? What the slag do you mean?"

"It should be obvious, unless you're audio receptors are malfunctioning or you weren't listening to me!" Ratchet snapped. "Think about it—you were just dancing around for a camera bot even after Sari encouraged you to keep moving, and you even ignored several calls from Prime. You were practically asking to be ambushed."

Before Bumblebee could say anything at all, their comm links chimed. Optimus's voice could be heard clearly: "Ratchet, I need you to come out here immediately. There's been an accident and Prowl needs you."

Ratchet blinked. This was the first time he'd ever been summoned to come out of the base for a medical emergency—usually Sari's key took care of it, or the patient was brought to him. "What kind of emergency?" Ratchet demanded.

"A couple of reckless drivers crashed into us," came the reply. "Prowl got the worst of it because he was hit straight-on. I was hit by a second car but I'll be alright. Please hurry, Prowl is in bad shape!"

"I'll be right there," Ratchet said with a sigh. "I just need to get some of my tools from the back first."

"What about me?" Bumblebee asked. "Can I come too?"

"Negative," Optimus said. "I want you to stay there with Sari. Keep an eye on her, keep her safe. Over and out."

Bumblebee sighed and looked down at the floor.

"Your job here is just important as my job out there is," Ratchet said to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Do it well—Sari needs you."

With that Ratchet went into the back room to get his tools. After a few minutes, he came out and headed toward the door, transformed into vehicle mode, and rolled out.

Bumblebee decided to go and join Sari in front of the television, feeling a little dejected. Only he found that she was curled up on the couch, fast asleep. The television was still on, still showing cartoons, but she had fallen asleep anyway.

Poor kid, she's had a long day… just like all of us, Bumblebee thought as he grabbed a blanket and gently draped it over her. He was very careful not to disturb or wake her, and he gently tucked the blanket around her shoulders and made sure it covered her feet. He knew enough about humans—mostly from television—that humans never covered their heads with their blankets unless they were scared.

Bumblebee then sat down in Prowl's chair—which was made out of a couple of tires, and watched TV for a while. Part of him hoped that he would get called soon, but no such call came. But why the slag did he have to stay here anyway, when his friends were out there and one of them was hurt bad? Just because Sari didn't have her key anymore and needed to be protected didn't mean he had to stay here all day….

Just then one of the consoles beeped. Bumblebee got up as quietly as he could and dashed over to it, partly because he didn't want the beeping to disturb Sari, and partly because he was hoping for some action.

And it turned out he was in luck. There was a Cybertronian energy signature appearing on the scanner, however faint. His opticals widened, and he had to admit that it looked important enough to go investigate.

Hmmm, since I'm here all alone and Sari is asleep… maybe I could just go check it out all by myself, he thought. He then glanced over at Sari, who was still sleeping peacefully. If I hurry, I doubt anyone will ever miss me! And it sure beats hanging around here when the only other person here right now is sound asleep and won't even notice I'm gone.

So with that, he quickly and quietly headed to the exit, transformed into vehicle move, and sped off into the city with his tracking sensors boosted to max.

0o0o0o0

Ratchet was completely grateful for the use of his siren and lights because without them he would never have gotten to the heart of the accident. Everyone assumed he was another ambulance come to take the injured to the hospital, so they let him on through. The ironic thing was that Ratchet had never even seen a hospital, except on TV.

Once he got to the scene of the accident he transformed into robot mode, and saw what a mess it truly was. There were numerous cars backed up, some of them turning around to leave and others just waiting. But as for the accident scene itself, it seemed that there were at least four or five cars that had been banged up and one of them was up-side down.

"What happened here?" he barked out as he looked around.

"Ratchet—you're here!" came Optimus's voice. That's when Ratchet spotted his fellow bots nearby. Indeed Optimus looked a bit dented and banged up, but he was still functioning. Bulkhead looked a little unnerved, but otherwise no worse for the wear.

"For once I didn't even cause any damage," the large green mech said. "A couple of careless humans did it all themselves!"

"Where is Prowl?" Ratchet asked.

"Over here," Optimus said, leading the way.

Prowl was lying on the ground and looked to be in terrible shape. His opticals and faceplate were cracked; one of his legs had been broken off, the armor plating on his arm was damaged and the circuitry beneath was exposed, but the main thing that concerned Ratchet was the excessive damage to his chest.

The medical bot immediately set to work, calling out to Optimus and Bulkhead to assist him. If only we had Sari's key! Ratchet thought as he began to try and stabilize Prowl's primary circuits. Due to all this extensive damage, he felt he was going to be lucky if he could stabilize Prowl enough to take him back to base, never mind completely heal him.

"How fast was the car that hit him going, anyway?" Ratchet demanded as he worked. "He looks like he was attacked by a Decepticon!"

"Well, Prowl Bulkhead and myself were going a bit faster than we should have because we thought we were onto something," Optimus admitted. "Prowl was in front of us, and probably going the fastest—and then this car comes at his from the opposite direction, causing other cars to go off the road, and slams right into Prowl before he can react in any way." Optimus looked down at his fallen friend. "And in the process… both Prowl and the car slammed into me next, with Prowl caught in the middle."

Ratchet winced. "That would cause some damage, all right." Ratchet sighed. "I can't work on him out here—we need to risk it and move him back to base. I think I have him stabilized enough so he can travel." With that, Ratchet transformed into an ambulance. "Put him in me," he called out. "Carefully!"

Optimus gently lifted Prowl's limp form and placed him inside Ratchet. Then the ambulance shut its doors, and began to drive off toward the base, sirens blazing. Optimus and Bulkhead quickly transformed and followed the suit. This was definitely a true medical emergency.

0o0o0o0o0

Bumblebee sped along the streets as quickly as he could get away with without using the siren or lights. He was getting closer to the signal, and he knew it wouldn't be long until he got there.

He ended up following the signal into a park, specifically into a small area full of trees. He ended up having to transform into robot mode and follow a nature trail on foot.

After a hike that lasted about ten minutes, he finally found the source of the signal—it seemed to be coming from underneath a bush. He bent down and gently pulled the branches apart and then gasped at what he saw.

It seemed to be a human with a key around her neck.

"What's this human doing with Sari's key?" Bumblebee muttered aloud, and gently pulled the woman out of the bushes, laying her on the ground to get a better look. She wasn't moving at all—was she dead?

Bumblebee looked at the key, turning it over in his fingers. Then he blinked and frowned. "That's not Sari's key," he quickly realized. "Sari's key is shaped differently than this and it doesn't have writing on it."

Just then, the human began to move slightly and let out a loud groan. Then her eyelids flickered, and then her eyes opened. And then her eyes went absolutely wide when she saw what was standing over her.

"Are you… my guardian angel?"

Bumblebee blinked, unsure what to make of that. "What?" he said.

0o0o0o0

Sari nearly jumped out of her skin when the Autobots came rushing through the front entrance, their lights and sirens still blazing. Having been startled awake she fell off the couch onto the floor, tangled up in the blanket. It took her a moment to get it off of her so she could see what was going on.

"Hey what's happening?" she said, rushing toward the others.

"Prowl's been hurt bad," Bulkhead said.

"Oh no!" Sari said. "What happened?"

"We had a car accident out there and Prowl got the worst of it," Optimus said. He gently took Prowl out of Ratchet so that he could transform, then all of the bots went into the room that had been arranged as a medical bay for their own use.

Sari followed closely behind them, wanting to see everything that was going on. When Ratchet lay Prowl on the medical bunk she got a full view of the damage, causing her to gasp in horror. "Oh if only I had my key!" she exclaimed.

Ratchet glanced at her out of the corner of his eye but otherwise kept his opticals on what he was doing. "Can't worry about that now," he muttered. "I just have to do everything I can to save him."

"Hey, where's Bumblebee?" Bulkhead asked.

"Um," Sari said and looked around, just realizing for herself that he was gone. "I don't know—I guess I fell asleep on the couch. But he was right here when I saw him last!"

Optimus groaned, pressing his hand against his forehead. "Where could he have possibly gone?" he wondered out loud.

0o0o0o0

The human woman was very disoriented at first, but after talking with her for couple minutes he managed to figure some things out right along with her. Apparently her name was Sakura, she had no idea how she got here, and she was in her early twenties. On top of that, she said she felt a little funny, and she could barely stand on her own two feet.

"So where did you get that key?" Bumblebee asked. "It just looks like something a friend has—or, had."

"Key?" Sakura glanced downward, touching the item that hung from her neck on a silver-colored chain with her fingers. "I don't know…" she said.

"Say wait a minute," Bumblebee said, as though he'd just remembered something. "You actually look a lot like someone I saw on TV—the woman reported missing that Petra Black kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped?" Sakura blinked. Her mind was still a bit foggy and things in general just weren't making much sense to her. "I don't know… I don't remember anything."

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"I'm not sure, but I think I was just going out for a walk. I wanted to check out one of the stores or something…" She drew in a sharp breath. "Why do I feel so strange? And who are you—" Her eyes widened suddenly, with recognition. "Wait a minute—you're one of the Autobots, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm Bumblebee, but I already told you my name."

"Oh… I guess you did. Sorry, I seem to be a little out of it."

"Don't worry about it. But we need to figure out what happened to you and how you got here!"

Just then, Bumblebee's commlink came on. "Bumblebee," came Optimus's voice, "where are you?"

Bumblebee pressed his finger into his helmet to answer. "Hi boss-bot—sorry I know I was ordered to stay at the base, but I picked up a Cybertronian energy signature and—"

"And so you decided to disobey orders and check it out, without even telling anyone?"

"Well, I found it at least," Bumblebee said, slightly sheepish. "I think I found the victim that Petra Black kidnapped, and she's wearing a key around her neck."

"A key?" Optimus sounded hopeful. "Is it Sari's key?"

"No it's not," Bumblebee said. "But it kinda looks Cybertronian. It might even be what our sensors picked up."

Optimus sighed. "Alright, well… normally I don't like bringing strangers to our base, but I'll make an exception just this once. I want you to bring this human here, right now."

"You got it, boss-bot," Bumblebee said. He then transformed into a car, and opened the door for Sakura to get in.

"Huh?" Sakura said, blinking. Then it seemed to register in her brain what had just happened. "Oh uh… you want me to go with you?"

"Yeah, get in," Bumblebee said, opening the door a little wider.

"Why?" the brown-haired woman asked suspiciously. "Where are you going to take me?"

"Back to our base," Bumblebee said. "Optimus Prime wants to talk to you, I think. And we're all curious about how you got here and where you got that key."

"I don't know, I don't like getting into a car with strangers, and well… you're both a strange car and a stranger."

"Oh come on. I've heard many humans talk about how they would love to see our base. Wouldn't you like to see?"

Sakura swallowed, although her curiosity was definitely getting the best of her. "Well… okay," she finally said. "Although we can stop someplace first?" she asked as she climbed in, and she jumped a little when the door closed itself.

"Stop someplace? Like where?" Bumblebee asked as he started to drive. "Oh and fasten your seatbelt—I guess there's a law about that."

Sakura fumbled with the seatbelt, although she was having a little trouble with her hands and fingers—what was wrong with her? It was as if something was wrong with her coordination. Almost like she'd forgotten how to use her limbs and digits, or that they'd changed somehow. "Well," she said sheepishly, "I need to use a rest room." She paused. "Bad."

"Oh I see," Bumblebee said, and began to pick up a bit more speed. "Well just try to hold it in because we have a bathroom back at the base—one that Sari uses when she needs to. Don't worry we will be there in no time!"

"I hope so, because I don't know how long I can hold it in," Sakura said, sounding a little strained.

0o0o0o0

Ratchet gritted his teeth. "I can't do anything more for him right now and his circuits are continuing to destabilize!"

"Is there anything you can do?" Optimus asked.

"The only thing I can do—I'm going to put him into an induced stasis lock," the medical bot sighed. "It will only slow down the deterioration of his circuits, but it will buy him some time."

"Then we will have to find Sari's key," Prime said. "How long does he have?"

"Only a few hours… if that," Ratchet replied grimly.

0o0o0o0o

"Bumblebee… how much further?"

"Take it easy—only a few more minutes, Sakura."

"I can't take it easy—I don't know how much longer I can hold it in!"

"Just hold it in a little longer!" Bumblebee said, and burned rubber as he picked up a bit more speed.

0o0o0o0o0

Petra had dined like a queen on as much food as she could eat—well, at least as well as one could "dine like royalty" at McDonalds. But she totally loved French fries and she had a particular fondness for their burgers.

After she had eaten her fill, she returned to her secret lair and ditched her disguise. She had one particular disguise she always used at shopping plazas and restaurants—a short brown wig with specifically applied make-up and large hoop earrings. She also knew how to wear different styles of clothing to disguise herself further. In essence, she could become anyone she wanted to be whenever she left her lair.

Right now… it was time for sleep. She laid herself on the table where her patient had previously been and closed her eyes, quickly drifting off to sleep.

0o0o0o

"ARE WE THERE YET?"

"Calm down, we're almost there!" Bumblebee shouted as the base came into view. He sped straight toward the building, right up the road and toward the entrance—but the entrance was closed.

"Hey guys," he shouted over his commlink as he skidded to a stop in front of it. "Open the door, I need to get in!"

"Um, Bumblebee…" Sakura said a bit timidly.

"Don't worry! We'll be inside in a sec," the Autobot replied.

"But—"

The entrance opened, and Bumblebee sped inside and then skidded to a halt. "Okay we're here," he said and opened his door. "Now you can go to the bathroom. Just go down that hallway, go left until you reach the very end, and then take a right. You can't miss it."

Sakura didn't move.

"Uh, Sakura? I thought you said you had to go, and bad."

"Um… yes," Sakura said. "I just… did."

For a moment, Bumblebee just remained perfectly motionlessly, and perfectly silent.

And then…

"YOU WET MY SEAT?"

Sakura leapt out and tried to run, but her coordination was still not very good and she still couldn't figure out what was wrong with her body. Although she needn't have worried anyway because it wasn't like Bumblebee would actually hurt her. Although she still didn't want to hang around too close… just in case.


	4. Chapter 4

Optimus and Bulkhead came running to the area where the front door was to see what was going on. They found Bumblebee racing around in a circle yelling some things that were incoherent, although some words could be made out—they sounded like a mixture of Cybertronian curses and Earth swear words.

At the same time, there was a young human woman on the floor, looking like she simply fallen there. She seemed scared but she also looked like she was having trouble getting up.

"Bumblebee, stop!" Optimus half-shouted, holding up his hands.

After a moment, the yellow bot screeched to a sudden halt. Panting softly, he turned to look at Prime.

"What's wrong?" Optimus asked. "What happened here?"

"Um… I guess it's my fault," the human girl said. "I um…" She looked at the floor as if she was too embarrassed to say it.

"SHE WET MY SEAT!" Bumblebee shouted.

Optimus's opticals blinked, and he looked from Bumblebee to the girl and back to Bumblebee again. Then he just couldn't help himself—he chuckled a little, putting his hand over his mouth in an attempt to hide it.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Bumblebee exclaimed. "IT'S DISGUSTING! AND IT SMELLS BAD!"

Sakura herself wasn't sure to make of all this. She still had no idea what had happened to her, or how she ended up where Bumblebee found her. Part of her was frightened and wanted to run, yet something told her that if any of these robots wanted to hurt her, then Bumblebee would have harmed her or even killed her when he'd first found her. And even after what she just did to his interior, Bumblebee still had not hurt her—all he was doing pretty much was cursing and yelling in general.

So she did something she didn't think she'd do—she laughed. Not just a laugh but a gut-wrenching guffaw. The only problem was that she had just barely managed to get herself to her feet despite her poor coordination, and this simply sent her sprawling onto the ground again.

"Ouch," she said.

0o0o0o0o

Petra Black was having a very weird dream. She dreamed that she was walking around inside what appeared to be a very large hotel. And at the end of one great hallway she was strolling down she came across a couple of machines. They were fun machines, the kind where you put two quarters into and see if you can use a claw to grab a stuffed animal within.

She decided it would be fun to try it out, simply because she hadn't even seen one for a long time and she always liked them, even if they were a waste of money for the most part. She took two quarters out of her pocket and slipped them into the machine and tried to grab what looked like a cute little blue teddy bear. She failed to grab it. So she put two more quarters in and tried one more time. She almost got it that time but it fell out of the claw's grip at the last minute.

She cursed and slammed her fists against the machine. She was out of quarters and out of money right now. She knew that if she wanted to continue to play or do anything at all really, she would need to find a way to get more money. That was the key to everything in this day and age—getting more money! Money just so you could live and get whatever you wanted.

Suddenly though she got an idea. She took the key from her pocket—the one she had stolen from the red-haired girl—and inserted it into the slot in the machine. Then it began to spew quarters at her, giving her more money in quarters than she'd ever dreamed she would see.

And that's when the police showed up, confiscating the key from her and putting handcuffs on her wrists and taking her out of the building.

That's when she awoke with a start on her cot. She stared around her lab wide-eyed and panting for a moment until she realized it had all been merely a dream. She then sighed and sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the cot. I've always had awesome dreams… and what makes them really awesome is that I always know when to wake up, she thought, smiling to herself. Before they turn really ugly.

With that she got up and prepared to make herself some breakfast. Today was going to be a big day, because she needed to find another test subject—erm, another patient.

0o0o0o0

Bulkhead got the oh-so-glorious task of cleaning out Bumblebee's interior, armed with a large bottle of Lysol, a big bucket of soap and water, and some decontamination spray from their ship. Only thing was that Bumblebee had to stay in vehicle mode until they were finished, so they went into one of the back rooms so that they would be out of the way.

Optimus then took the young human woman who'd introduced herself as Sakura into the medical bay, where Ratchet and Sari were doing their best to watch over the wounded Prowl. Optimus immediately knew that Sakura was at least a decade older than Sari because she was, well, developed more—that is, she had some… physical attributes that Sari did not have yet. But Optimus could tell that she was still fairly young for a human—perhaps in her late teens or very early twenties. Although he still wasn't sure what to make of that key around her neck.

When Optimus walked into the medical bay, carrying the human woman in his hand because she was having difficulty walking, Ratchet and Sari looked over at him. As Optimus set Sakura down on the floor, the key that hung from her neck began to glow softly.

Sari gasped and began to run forward. "That's my key! How did you get it?"

Sakura blinked, staring down at the key that hung from her neck. "This is yours?" she asked, fingering it. "And why is it glowing?"

"Please give it here!" Sari said, looking both relieved and anxious to see her key.

Sakura very carefully pulled the chain over her head, taking it off and handing it out to Sari. The red-haired girl took it and turned it over in her fingers. "Wait a minute," she said as she turned it over in her hands, squinting to see past the bright glow it was giving off. "This isn't my key! It's the wrong shape and there's some kind of writing on it." She glanced up and looked at Sakura. "Where did you get this? And where is my key?"

Sakura frowned. "I have no idea," she said with an honest shrug.

"Well no matter where that key came from, maybe it can be used to save Prowl," Optimus said.

Sari frowned. "I don't know," she said slowly, "if somehow its Sakura's… I don't feel right about using it… she should use it."

"What are you talking about it?" Sakura asked. "Use it how?"

Sari held out the key to the brown-haired girl. "Just take it, go over to Prowl, and find a slot to stick this key into—it'll heal him."

Sakura hesitated, looking over at the large cot on which a darkly colored robot lay. He looked to be in very bad shape and there were sparks flying off of him. They want me to help him, she thought to herself, and snapped out of her fog. She slowly reached out and took the key from Sari. "Okay then… help me up there," Sakura said with a confidence she did not feel.

Optimus lifted Sakura up onto the cot beside Prowl. Then Sakura clasped the key in her grip and found that it seemed to be leading her hand somewhere. Within a second or two she noticed what appeared to be a slot on the robot's chest, which was where she then inserted the key.

There was a blinding flash of light and what appeared to be a surge of energy. The damage seemed to magically heal up and any parts that were missing or heavily damaged seemed to magically regenerate.

Within seconds, Prowl seemed to be as good as new, and he slowly sat up on the cot.

He then saw Sakura standing there with a key in her hands.

"Who are you?" the ninja bot asked.

"This is Sakura," Optimus said. "She's the one who saved your life."

"What is she doing with Sari's key?" Prowl inquired.

"That's not her key, it seems to be another one," Optimus replied.

"Yes, but how is this possible?" Ratchet said out loud. "Unless this girl has been in contact with the Allspark somehow, I don't see how she could have gotten a key like Sari's."

"She was probably the one kidnapped by Petra Black. But she didn't remember anything," Prime said.

"Hey I didn't even know I was kidnapped!" Sakura said, shaking her head. "All I know is that I was going for a walk, on my way to a store. Next thing I know… I wake up in the middle of the woods with Bumblebee standing over me, and I'm wearing this key around my neck." She fingered the key indicatively.

"That further supports the theory that you were kidnapped by Petra Black, because she stole Sari's key and now you have one just like it," Optimus said, and frowned. "But why would she just leave you in the middle of the woods, with a key just like the one that belongs to Sari?"

"I have no idea," Sakura said. "I'm just glad she didn't do anything to me." Just then her foot slipped and she began to fall from the side of the cot, but Optimus's reflexes were fast enough to catch her before she hit the floor.

"Ugh," Sakura said. She felt a little unnerved sitting in the palm of a giant hand, but relieved that she didn't hit the floor. "I still don't know what's wrong with me," she said. "It's like I can't control my body or something."

"What do you mean?" Ratchet asked, frowning slightly and moving to stand closer to both of them. Prowl sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the cot and stood, joining them.

"I don't know, it's like my arms and legs won't cooperate or something," Sakura said with a shrug.

"Did you have this trouble before you were captured? Before Bumblebee found you?" Optimus asked.

Sakura thought for a moment. "No," she admitted. "I was fine before that."

"I wonder if Miss Black could have done something to you," Ratchet said slowly. "If somehow you ended up with a key just like Sari's, I wonder if she did anything to you." He frowned. "I would like to examine you a little, if it's alright."

Sakura blinked. "Are you a doctor?" she asked. Although given the fact that this seemed to be some sort of medical bay or something, and that Ratchet had been here when she and Optimus came in… it was probably safe to assume that.

And Ratchet confirmed it. "Yes I am."

"Well… okay then," Sakura said. She didn't like being examined, not even by human doctors. But she did want to know more about the robots in general, and she did want to make sure she was okay.

"Ratchet, are you sure you know enough about human anatomy?" Optimus asked.

"I know enough," the doc-bot shrugged. "If nothing else, I should be able to tell if there is something out of the ordinary or not."

At Ratchet's gestured, Optimus set Sakura down on the cot that Prowl had vacated a few moments ago. She looked small and almost fragile compared to the previous patient who had occupied it.

The doc-bot began to run a scan on Sakura and almost immediately his opticals went wide.

"What's the matter?" Sari asked.

"Sakura has a Cybertronian energy signature," Ratchet said. "It seems that she is part machine."

Sakura blinked. "Uh… w-what?"


	5. Chapter 5

Petra Black hummed silently to herself as she lay on her belly on the floor, staring into her laptop computer's screen. She was currently in her lab, laying down underneath one of her work tables, using wireless internet and dangling the red-haired kid's key by the string on her fingertips.

"HOT MAMA!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, as something caught her eye on Youtube. She leaned forward and practically tried to jump through the screen, droplets of salvia dripping on the computer keys as she drooled, sticking her tongue out and panting like a dog.

She had found a video of a very handsome, muscular man without his shirt on, showing off his muscles and flashing pearly white teeth as he looked about. He was also wearing dark sunglasses.

Petra screamed and nearly fainted when he took off the sunglasses, bobbing his eyebrows after he did so.

"JOHNNY BRAVO, MY HERO!" Petra screamed, then attempted to kiss him—only to plant a juicy, wet kiss on the computer screen. Ah well, it needed to be cleaned away. There was a lot of dust on it… although when Petra licked her lips, her tongue felt like a fuzzball.

"I'LL BE YOURS, BABY! I'LL BE YOURS FOREVER!" Petra screamed, after she had managed to swallow the dust in her mouth with a glass of water. Of course she then spilled the water on the keyboard… and shorted out the laptop.

Ah, well. She could always go steal another computer. This one had been stolen from Sumdac's own lab, and she had been piggybacking on his own internet anyway. It would be no problemo whatsoever, seriously.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Ratchet gave Sakura a thorough examination, and thus, he was the first of the Autobots to determine that she was somehow a techno-organic… but her systems were flawed, and potentially unstable. The only way for her to survive was to insert her key into herself and allow its energy to keep her stabilized.

"Your systems weren't designed very well," Ratchet told her gravely, peering down at the readouts on his portable scanner. "The only way for your circuitry and organic tissues to co-exist is for you to use that key at least once a day. And… the way you've been… modified, you can no longer survive without the circuitry." The old medibot figured it would be best if he'd simply told her the whole truth right up front.

Sakura said nothing. In truth, she just wasn't sure how to take the news. She knew that something weird had been going on with her for a while, simply because her body had been… different. Like, it was hard to walk sometimes, almost as if something in her legs had forgotten how to…

No, part of her mind corrected itself… her legs had changed, and so her new legs simply hadn't learned how to walk yet, at least not fully. She had the knowledge of how to walk in her brain, but since she was part machine now… some things she would simply have to relearn how to do. Because her mind, and her body, were still trying to adapt to the changes.

Optimus Prime, as well as the other Autobots, knew that this was indeed the girl who Petra Black had kidnapped. It made sense, considering what had been done to her, along with the fact that she seemed to have a duplicate of Sari's key.

"We're going to have to stop Petra, before she can cause any more trouble," Optimus said, firmly and thoughtfully. "We don't want this," he nodded indicatively toward Sakura, "to happen to anyone else… and we still need to get Sari's key back."

Sakura was still feeling rather dazed. And yet, something seemed to snap through her fog. "Sari has a key, too?"

Optimus and Ratchet looked at her. "Yes she does, but Petra stole it," Optimus told her.

"Why does she have a key?" Sakura asked, fingering her own key thoughtfully.

"The Allspark gave it to her," Ratchet answered.

"But why? I mean… I guess I have this one because I need it for my systems. But… why does Sari have one?"

Optimus and Ratchet exchanged glances. "We don't know why the Allspark chose her," Optimus finally said with a shrug. "But… it just did."

Sakura shrugged, turning away. She fingered her own key thoughtfully in her hands. "I want to be alone," she finally said.

"Take her to her room, Ratchet," Optimus said. His choice of words may have suggested it was a command, but his tone made it clear it was a request. The medic nodded, then gently picked up Sakura and took her toward the room they had set up for her.

"The rest of you are with me," Optimus told the other Autobots. "We need to try and locate Petra Black. Transform and roll out!"

0o0o0o0o0

Petra Black now knew what she wanted—or more precisely, who she wanted. She wanted to get her paws on Johnny Bravo. Wouldn't he make an ideal test subject—erm, an ideal patient?

She let out a shrill, fan-girlish squeal at the thought, clapping her together and jumping up and down. Then she began to dance, stomping her feet as she hummed a merry little tune.

Only then, something clicked in her mind. Johnny Bravo was, in fact, not real. He was just a cartoon character, from a series that aired, like, at least a century ago. They simply had episodes from that old cartoon series on Youtube because apparently, some people still liked it.

"NOOOOO!" she screamed, when she realized that she would not be able to fulfill her plan. Was this… yet another FAILURE! NO IT JUST COULD NOT BE! IT COULDN'T! IT COULDN'T! IT TOTALLY COULD NOT!

She grasped the key by its string, holding it tightly in her fingers. "This is all YOUR fault, somehow!" she wailed, as tears began to stream freely down her cheeks.

Of course, nothing could possibly be her fault! NOT ANYMORE! She had had ENOUGH failures in her life. From now on, NOTHING WAS GOING TO BE HER FAULT ANYMORE!

From now on, she could do ANYTHING! She was above doing wrong now, NOTHING was "wrong" for her, as long as she did it toward something that might SUCCEED.

"From this moment on, NOTHING CAN STOP ME!" she yelled, circling around and around and waving the key around as she did so. "I AM THE LORD THY GOD—ERM, GODDESS! I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT NOW, EVEN BREAK THE LAW! THEY WILL NEVER FIND ME ANYWAY! !"

Finally she had to stop, because she was getting really dizzy and she'd just run out of breath. She half-collapsed, half sat down on the floor, wheezing and almost hyper-ventilating as she tried to catch her breath.

Then finally, after a few minutes, her eyes widened and she grinned a huge, shark-ish grin where all of her teeth stuck out of her mouth, including her fangs. "Yessss," she purred, "you are going to help me get what I want, somehow!"

Then she cracked up softly, but couldn't afford to laugh too much because she was still somewhat breathless. "Oh yeah. Soon… I will find another test subject. And then…" She smooched the key. "And then, my little friend… I WILL SUCCEED!"

Giggling, she made for the door. There was work to be done!


	6. Chapter 6

Petra leaned over toward the floor, attempting to get a better grip on a couple of wires. Soon enough, she would get this car started with the useful art of hotwiring, and then she would go and search for another new victim.

And this time… she would succeed.

At least, that's what the voices were telling her. They spoke to her often now, although she didn't know who they were and she didn't care. They were just telling her useful things…

In fact, she eventually decided that the voices were coming from… everywhere! Now that she was Goddess, she could understand, and hear, things she never could before. The trees could speak, the rocks, the road pavement… maybe even her own fingernails.

"Eh… what're you saying?" she asked out loud, holding her thumbnail close to her ear. "Oh yes," she chirped, "I know… I really do need a pedicure. But, can't right now! There are things to do!"

Her thumbnail protested, disappointed, but at least the car's windshield and seats seemed to agree with her. Well, nice to know they were on her side, at least.

"Hey!" a voice shouted, banging a fist on the window. It was a voice that did not belong to anything inside the car, or her fingernails. She then glanced out the window, and saw a plump, blond-haired man standing out there, scowling.

"OH MY GOSH IT'S CAPTAIN FANZONE!" she practically squealed.

"What on Earth are you doing inside my car?" Fanzone demanded, opening the door. "You could get into big trouble by messing around with a police officer's car! And you know what?" he said as he grabbed her arm and attempted to pull her out. "YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!"

"Oh look at that!" Petra squealed to anyone who might be listening—which mostly seemed to include the windshield and the cigarette lighter, which were laughing. "HE'S SO DAMN CUTE WHEN HE'S MAD!"

With that, she practically leaped onto him, swinging her legs up over his shoulder, crossing her ankles behind his head and allowing her high-heeled shoes to fall off. Then, keeping herself from falling backward by grabbing his arms with her hands and stabilizing herself, she kissed him fully on the lips.

"HEY!" Fanzone yelled after he broke the kiss, trying to twist his head away from her. "I'm married, young lady!"

"THEN I BET YOUR WIFE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT SHE'S GOT!" Petra yelled. "AND I'M TAKING YOU HOME WITH ME!"

"WHAT?"

With that, she slugged him over the head with her heavy purse, the one with her lucky brick in it. He groaned, his eyes rolled backward in his head, and then he collapsed on the ground.

It took her a moment to untangle herself from him, but once she did she hauled him toward the car, putting him in the back seat. Then, giggling and rubbing her hands together, she hopped back into the front of the car, and proceeded to try hotwiring again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura was all alone in her room—well, not all alone, because Sari Sumdac had come in to pay her a visit. In some ways, Sakura did not want her there because she simply wanted to be alone to deal with her own thoughts and feelings on… well, everything that had happened to her. Nevertheless, it seemed kind of rude to just ask her to leave….

After all, Sakura had a feeling as if she was more like a guest here, at least for the time being. Even the kid had been in this place more often than she had, she could imagine.

"You doing okay?" Sari asked quietly.

"I guess," was Sakura's only reply. It was a lie and a truth at the same time, sort of. She knew exactly how she was feeling, and it wasn't too good. But at the same time… she felt it could be worse.

She could be dead. But she wasn't.

Sakura then noticed that the red-haired girl was eyeing her key. She reached up to the key, where it hung from a chain around her neck, and fingered it thoughtfully. "Still haven't got yours back, have you?" she asked gently.

Sari shook her head. "I want it back so bad! I feel useless without it."

Sakura said nothing. What could she say? If she'd said, "I understand," it would have been a lie because she truly didn't understand. After all… she'd never used her key the way Sari had apparently used hers, at least not much. To Sakura, the key was nothing more than something that was, apparently, as essential as food or water now.

"I'm sure… your friends are doing everything they can to get it back," she finally said. It was all she could say. "I would lend you this one, but… I got told that I need to use it at least once a day or I'll die." She shuddered slightly in spite of herself.

In many ways, Sakura felt so violated. Her body had been made half-robot… heck it seemed like everything that made her human had been messed with somehow or other. Now she was not human anymore, but she wasn't a robot either. She was just this… cyborg thing, or whatever, that had a key.

So what was she supposed to do now? How was she supposed to live like this?

"You know… I'd really like to be alone for a bit," Sakura said quietly. Part of her felt bad, but it was true. She really did want to be alone.

"Okay," Sari said, sounding somewhat disappointed but understanding at the same time. Both girls knew that the best was empty right now except for them, and although Sari would normally go home or something, she wanted to be there for Sakura.

"I'll be… in the living area if you need anything," Sari said. With that, she turned and left the room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Upon returning to her private lab beneath Sumdac Tower, Petra huffed and puffed as she dragged Fanzone's limp body toward one of the tables and, straining as she hefted him up, gritting her teeth so hard she thought she might crack a molar, she finally managed to plop him down on its surface.

Then she collapsed on the floor, huffing and wheezing, rubbing her poor sore muscles. She was positive that she had pulled at least a dozen muscles… all over her body.

"Ohhhh, I'm going to die by morning," she groaned.

"Don't worry," the television set said to her, "everything will be alright."

"You better believe it, baby!" Petra giggled. "I've got a new test subject, and this time, I WILL SUCCEED!"

However, it was right at that moment when Captain Fanzone awoke, groaning and mumbling something about a headache.

"NO! YOU CAN'T WAIT UP YET!" Petra screamed, frantically scrambling around for a sedative. "YOUR GODDESS HAS NOT GIVEN YOU PERMISSION TO WAKE UP YET! I NEED TO CONDUCT MY TESTS FIRST!"

"What the—" was the first thing Fanzone said, then his gaze settled on his captor, and he scowled. "Alright, now you've gone too far!" he barked, easing himself off of the table, setting his feet on the floor. "I've got enough charges against you right now to lock you away for the rest of your life!"

"NOOOOO YOU CANNOT TOUCH ME! I AM GODDESS! I WILL TURN YOU INTO A PERFECT ROBOT!"

"In your dreams! Scratch what I said before, you belong in an insane-asylum, woman!" Then he cocked his head to one side. "Wait a minute, I know you… you're Prometheus Black's sister, suspected of kidnapping!"

"I don't take kid naps, I take cat naps!" Petra cackled as she raised her arm and swung the key around and around from its string. "And this is the key, to my destiny! OH I DO SO LOVE PUNS! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA I AM SO FUNNY AND CLEVER!"

"Wait a minute, that's the key that belongs to the Sumdac kid!" Fanzone exclaimed with realization. "Oh so now I would have to add theft to the charges!"

"Do whatever you want, but you can't keep me!"

"Give me that," Fanzone said, rushing toward her and attempting to reach for the key. He didn't know much about it, and he had never even seen it up close before. But from what little he'd heard and seen of it, he knew that it wasn't something he wanted to see in this crazy woman's grasp.

The two of them began to struggle, wrestling over the key. Each person tugged, pulled, yanked, and attempted to push and shove at each other, each trying to get the key away from the other person. Finally though, the chain broke, and the key went flying….

…Right into Captain Fanzone's large mouth. Unfortunately he also chose that exact moment to inhale… and the key went down his throat.

He began to gag, coughing and spluttering as he clutched at his throat.

"I KNOW THE HIEMLECH!" Petra bellowed, then slammed her elbow into the small of his back.

Fanzone felt the key go down his esophagus, roughly. Then all of the air whooshed out of his lungs as Petra gripped him in a tight bear hug, shaking him. For such a pale, skinny woman, she actually had a remarkable grip, and she was unbelievably strong.

"SPIT IT UP! SPIT IT UP! SPIT IT UP!" Petra chanted over and over, shaking him harder and harder until his head and neck whiplashed. "PUKE ALREADY, DAMNIT!"

Finally she loosened her grip just enough for Fanzone to break free, then he spun around on his heel and decked her solidly in the jaw. Normally he wouldn't dream of hitting a woman, but this wasn't any ordinary woman. She was dangerous, violent, and quite nutsy kookoo.

She fell to the floor, then curled up into a ball as she rubbed her sore jaw. Then she broke into a laughing fit. "It hurts!" she giggled.

"You're laughing over pain?" Fanzone wheezed, clutching at his chest. The key had been forcefully swallowed, and it hurt.

"Would you rather I cry?"

Fanzone grumbled something under his breath. "Look, lady, we're getting out of here," he growled.

"Hey, your belly is glowing!"

"What?" Fanzone said. Then he glanced down… indeed, there was a light coming out from below his shirt. He lifted his shirt up ever so slightly… and his stomach was glowing a gentle, blue-white aura.

He quickly stuffed his shirt's end back into his pants (it had come undone during their wrestling match) when Petra began to giggle about how fat bellies were "sexy". Under normal circumstances, he would have turned around before pulling his shirt up, especially since he was in the presence of a female—no matter how deranged she was—and since he was married. But he didn't trust this woman for one second. He would never dream of turning his back on her, unless she was locked away in a cell.

"First, I'm getting you out of here, secured in a straight jacket, and put behind bars," Fanzone told her sternly. "After that…" He clutched as his stomach; it was starting to feel… odd. "I'm gonna go see a doctor."


	7. Chapter 7

Petra Black felt as though she was floating on air. She was now the Goddess of the Universe, having been garbed in a royal robe with people following her about. They all wanted to be near her! THEY ALL WANTED TO BE JUST LIKE HER! For once in her life, Petra Black was happy and felt as though she was on top of the world. People were talking to her, asking her questions, even taking pictures of her!

At least, that was how it was from her point of view.

In reality—a mental state from which Petra had escaped—she had been put into a strait jacket, taken to several psychiatrists, and had a few pictures taken for the local newspaper. As it turned out, Petra Black was not going to be arrested for any crimes. She was going to see a few shrinks (it had been determined that it would take more than one mental doctor to straighten her out) and she was going to live in a nice white room that was well-padded and well-insulated, until she was better.

Of course, it was truly questionable as to whether or not Petra could ever become sane. It seemed as though she had been born insane.

But until the day came when she returned to reality, she would be happily living in her fantasies as the universe's Goddess. At least she was happy, though. Perhaps that was all that really mattered.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

In the meantime, Sari Sumdac finally got her key back. Although it certainly took a while to figure out how to get the key safely out of Captain Fanzone's stomach.

Of course the first suggestion made to the police chief was a simple operation at the local hospital to have it removed, surgically. But Fanzone made it quite clear that he only wanted to do that as a last resort.

The first thing he tried was excessive burping. He drank a lot of fizzy drinks, but in the end that simply didn't do the trick.

The second thing he tried was spending an entire day eating nothing but prunes and drinking lots of prune juice. That didn't seem to help either. The key remained stuck in his stomach, giving his tummy an annoying aura. Thankfully his shirt covered it up, but it was definitely noticeable whenever he took a shower… and his wife definitely noticed at nighttime.

Finally, in the end, he ended up up-chucking it. It seemed that his stomach had finally decided all on its own that it no longed wanted the key lodged in it. Either that, or perhaps it was his mother-in-law's cooking that finally set it off that evening. Nevertheless, he was relieved to finally have it out of him.

He was sure to give it a thorough cleaning, then he got it back to the Sumdac kid, who literally squealed with delight when her tiny little fingers encircled it. Fanzone had smiled, told her to keep a good close eye on it, then left to go get some sleep. It was, after all, well past his bedtime by that point.

0o0o0o0o0o0

And last but not least, there was Sakura. She had pretty much accepted the fact that she would be a freak for the rest of her life. And that she would have to keep using her key on herself in order to survive.

Nevertheless, she learned to live with it. Especially when, one day in the not-so-distant future, it was revealed that Sari was half robot. That at least told Sakura that she was not alone in the universe, so to speak.

She chose to devote her time to being a writer. That way she didn't use up too much energy, and she was able to use her key even less often. She even became a best-selling author, because she had the ability to type faster than any normal human-being on Earth, she was able to produce more novels than any other human could.

And thus, what Petra Black had once thought of as a "failure" had actually turned the most successful writer on Earth.

So, perhaps in a way… Petra Black had, for the first time in her life, succeeded at making something good. Even if it didn't turn out the way anyone expected. And even if this was not the life Sakura would originally have chosen for herself.

And so, in the end… everyone was happy. And they all lived happily ever after.

**The End**


End file.
